SB198 - AN ACT relating to nuclear energy development.

1 Co-Sponsor

Creates a new section of Subchapter 12 of KRS Chapter 154 to require that the Cabinet for Economic Development create and implement a financial assistance program to support the nuclear energy ecosystem; provides for the staggering of initial appointments; requires that the Kentucky Nuclear Energy Authority conduct a study to identify the workforce needs to develop and support the nuclear ecosystem and submit its findings to the Governor and the Legislative Research Commission on or before December 1, 2024; requires that the Kentucky Nuclear Energy Development Authority contract for services to produce a site suitability study to identify the best potential locations for nuclear facility sites in the Commonwealth and report its findings to the Governor and the Legislative Research Commission on or before December 1, 2025; requires that the Kentucky Nuclear Energy Development Authority contract for services to develop and implement a nuclear marketing and education plan; creates a new section of KRS Chapter 164 to establish the Kentucky Nuclear Energy Development Authority; declares that the mission of the authority is to serve as the nonregulatory, trusted state government agency on nuclear energy issues and to support and facilitate the development of the nuclear energy ecosystem; establishes the membership and responsibilities of the advisory board to govern the authority; requires that the advisory board hire a director of the authority; establishes the purposes of the authority, which are to assist interested communities in understanding advanced nuclear opportunities, provide information to the public, develop the capacity for nuclear energy development in the Commonwealth, seek clarity on early nuclear site permitting, work with energy communities that have hosted nuclear-related or fossil fuel activities to assist in exploring nuclear energy opportunities, strengthen engagement with the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission, build the organizational capacity to convene a consortium of nuclear stakeholders to share best practices, engage with United States Department of Energy National Laboratories and private companies to develop technologies to reprocess or recycle spent nuclear fuel, and maintain awareness of potential events that could initiate or accelerate the development of new nuclear technologies in the Commonwealth; requires that the authority, with the approval of the advisory board, propose and adopt bylaws for the management and operation of the authority, develop and adopt a strategic plan for carrying out the purposes of the authority, create and update at least once every two years a nuclear energy economic impact analysis, and beginning December 1, 2025, and every December 1 thereafter, submit a report to the Governor and the Legislative Research Commission; and requires that the Kentucky Nuclear Energy Development Authority develop criteria for a nuclear-ready community designation.